Chapter Text
Chapter Three
Emergency
Hanamaki Takahiro would say he's pretty familiar with the ER by now.
As a kid he'd probably broken more bones than most, earning him a trip to the emergency with one piss off parent in toe.
It wasn't his fault if trees were meant to be climb and hills to roll down on. He just... More often then not would miscalculate his distances.
The first time, he'd broken his arm while falling down the large tree in their backyard when he was around seven. The branch had snapped under his shoe and sent him tumbling down to the grass below.
It hadn't hurt right away.
He remembered lying on the grass and staring up at the clouds above, the world around him was quiet for what felt like eternity. Until every thing came rushing in at the same time.
He heard his mother screaming, their dog barking and the distant sound of cars and traffic that was typically around their house. He felt like fire was rapidly consuming his arm growing ever hotter. He could feel his heart beating fast in his ears and his breath catching up in his throat.
Everything after that was a bit of a blur.
He remembered leaving the hospital with his mom, a brand new neon green cast on one arm and the other holding up a lollipop. It didn't feel like a punishment like his mom had said, he thought he looked pretty cool and it didn't even hurt that much.
The second time he'd broken something was two years later and the experience was entirely different.
He was nine and playing with some friends at the park when he'd miss a step on the ladder and fell down, twisting his leg in the process.
Years later he could swear he could still hear the cracking noise it made when his leg broke from the angle and speed he went down.
The first time had had a moment of stillness before the storm. This time around it was complete chaos and loudness. He could hear his friends shout for his mom who was further away talking with other parents. They seemed distant still over the sound of his own scream as he twisted in pain, vision blurred by tears.
The fire he had experience the first time didn't slowly crept up, it had consumed him entirely in one shot, leaving his raw and in agony. He remembered the whole trip to the emergency this time. His mother on the phone, talking quickly to his father as she drove down the road to the hospital.
They had to wait also in the waiting room as that day was a crowded day. Sitting on a plastic chair among the other people suffering, his mother had to cradle him like he was a baby again to bring him a bit of comfort until it was their time to see a doctor.
Once they'd finally see one, he was told he couldn't run or play until his leg had completely healed and even after that he'd need to be careful. That one really felt like a punishment as his mother helped him back to their car. He looked down at his leg, grimacing at it.
He didn't even get a colourful cast that time. it was plain boring white.
After that, he seemed to catch a break up until high school.
He was starting his first year at Aoba Johsai and his parent had said he should tryout for a sport team to make some friends and get his extra energy out.
He picked Volleyball cause it seemed pretty easy and didn't require much equipment. He signed up on the sheet and waited the few days to show up to tryouts. It was true that he hadn't made friends so far in his class since the year started and this could definitely help.
Changing into his gym uniform after class, he walked toward the building and could hear the sound of balls smashing on the ground and shouts of people. One voice seemed to get louder as he got closer, but he didn't make anything of it, opening the door and ready to greet the potential team and coach.
That's what he expected to do.
Instead he was propelled back as a volleyball came crashing in his face at full speed and force.
He heard various voices getting closer as he was sprawled like a starfish on the ground. He blinked a few times at the evening sky forming above him, thinking distantly that the colours looked nice.
Four heads popping into view obstructed his vision. He saw two adults which must have been part of the coaching team, and two boys about his age, one with spiky dark hair and a deep frown on and the other with floppy brown hair. He thought they looked like a soft cloud.
He must have said that out loud because said boy let out a small giggle that he hid behind his hand, looking over at the other boy.
" Iwa-chan, I think you might have caused some permanent damage, I thought you knew how to aim. and you could have hurt me!"
" THIS wouldn't have happened if you wouldn't be so annoying all the time!"
The two continued to bicker above him while he suddenly felt something warm on his face. Why was it so hard to breath as well?
" Ah! Iwa-chan he's bleeding!"
The brunette leaned closer to him, inspecting his face before looking up at one of the coach.
" I think his nose is broken. He should definitely go at the hospital."
And this is how he encountered his soon to be two best friends.
The two of them had accompanied him to the hospital, saying it was their fault and they would keep him company while his parents arrived. Iwaizumi, he learned was the spiky haired boy's name, kept on apologizing to him while Oikawa, the other boy with soft hair, gently kept on replacing the tissues under his nose that was keeping the blood from spreading everywhere.
After that, once he showed up the next day to school with two black eyes and a broken nose, Oikawa and Iwaizumi were waiting for him at the entrance. The brunette immediately intertwined their arms together, talking and acting like they've been friends forever already, and asked how he was doing while Iwaizumi walked a little bit further away.
" I hope it's not too painful Makki!"
And that was how he also earned the infamous nickname.
A few weeks later, when his nose had healed and he could actually take part in the volleyball practices, he was even closer to the duo. They didn't share any classes, but they would always wait for each other in the morning and have lunch together. Now, since he was able to partake in the team activities he was spending his after school time with them and sometimes even the walk home.
It was nice having friends, he thought.
There was one other boy their age on the team, Matsukawa Issei.
He was tall, taller than all of them and even taller than some of the second years. He had dark curly hair that seemed purposely dishevelled and those lazy dark eyes that were actually very sharp. He was a smart player, a very irritating one to play against. He was also very quiet. He wasn't unfriendly, everyone got along well with him, just very quiet. He never said more than needed and wasn't the time to start conversation either.
Makki and Oikawa were itching to just break him out of his shell.
Oikawa had even gone around to calling him Mattsun, which the taller boy didn't seem to mind. Or at least had never said anything about it.
One afternoon practice, the two ended up on a team together and were side by side when they jumped to make a block. As they landed, Matsukawa's foot slammed on top of his, sending him down on his ass.
He sat there for a second, elbows supporting him and foot on fire as he looked up at the taller boy.
The curly haired boy stared back in shock for a second before grinning at him.
" I see you've fallen for me. Were you de-feeted by my charm?"
Makki's mouth went slack, the pain in his foot completely forgotten. Did the other boy just make a joke? And smile at him?? Before he could stop himself, he blurred out the first thing that came to mind.
" Toe-tally knocked my socks off sir."
Matsukawa start laughing, Makki was sure he heard angels sing in that moment, and offered him a hand to get up. H took it happily, jumping to his feet before wincing and lifting up his right foot up instantly. The other boy lost his smile, looking at him with concern.
" Oh shit you're actually hurt, you alright?"
Makki took a moment to try and move his ankle and foot around, noticing a slight soreness but nothing major. When he tried to move his toes however, pain shot up his spine and he hissed.
" I think you squished some toes on the way down big guy."
And that is how after practice, in a less frantic moment then last time, he found himself with Oikawa and Iwaizumi again in the Emergency room waiting to get his foot checked up. Matsukawa had accompanied them since he felt guilty about the whole thing even though Makki kept on repeating him it was still toe-tally fine.
Since he wasn't a priority at the moment, he sat with the three other boys in a corner, and after Iwaizumi bodily threatened them if they didn't stop their stupid feet puns, they started talking about nothing and everything.
Once they got Mattsun going, they soon realized he was an incredibly funny guy, he simply had that blaze demeanour about him that was just his thing. Makki also noticed how much they had in common in what they liked.
Four hours later, he left the hospital with three broken toes, a lollipop he stole from the main desk and a new best friend. He'd definitely call that day a good one.
Since that day, they were inseparable.
Mattsun fitted in with them like he always was there, joining them every morning at the gates, having lunch with them, going to practice together after school and walking home at night. They were even hanging out on the weekends now, just hanging out at each other's house or at the park to play some lazy volleyball.
Their bond only became stronger as time went by. They made it together to their third year and things were slowly shifting between them. Something that wasn't there before was forming, they could all sense it.
It took them to lose everything at the Spring tournament to finally put their fingers on it.
They'd stop crying a long time ago. Their eyes and nose were still red from rubbing as they were all cuddled up on Mattsun's bed, his parents away for another few hours.
For once, everyone was silent, contemplating what they were never able to achieve, and never would now that they were graduating.
" I can't believe it's over..."
The soft voice of Oikawa broke moment they all seem to be stuck in. The words were barely above a whisper, sounding raw from the crying that happened earlier and not using his cords since.
The bunette shifted and got up, looking at the three others.
" I'm so proud of you all and I'm sorry I couldn't take us to Nationals..."
" Not this again, for the hundredth time, I told you you can't be a team of one we are all in this together! It wasn't you not being good enough!"
Iwaizumi's voice was also raw and raspy, sounding more gruff than usual.
" But.. this isn't the end right?"
Makki's interjection caught their attention, all eyes turning to the pink hair boy.
" We're graduating and we- we lost but... that's not the end of us..."
He looked around the three other boys.
" Right?"
And just like that they fell into place together in a different way than they did before.
They all expected it to be awkward and hard at first, but in the end, just like their friendship it all fell into place easily. Makki found it easy to intertwine his fingers with Oikawa whenever he wanted to now. His long and pale calloused fingers looked perfect against his, even if his nails were bitten almost raw from stress and anxiety. He liked running his fingers over them anyway, soothing them.
It came naturally to run his fingers softly through Mattsun's curly hair as well. He loved running them through the strands as they would lay on the couch on their day off, when they both didn't have work or school. He also loved playing with them when he was stressed with midterms and trying to get everything done on time. It kept him grounded.
He really thought Iwaizumi would be the hardest one to transition into a more intimate relationship. The man, now that they were older and attending university together, was often closed off when they were younger and had a harder time to express his feelings. But it seemed so natural how he opened up to them, and now Makki couldn't even imagine himself not leaning against a strong shoulder or draping himself over a muscular back. Hajime was built like a truck really. He was the shorter one out of them all but could probably benchpress them easily if he wanted to. He trained hard, sticked to a good regime and slept the right amount of hours like a grandpa. One of Makki's favourite things to do was when it was the spiky hair man's turn to cook. He would just sit at the counter and watch the muscles in his arms and back move under the flimsy white tank top.
He would be lying if he said it wasn't something sexy to watch and didn't do things in his lower regions to him, but sometimes he would get up and just rest his chin on the other man's shoulder and feel the muscles move against him with his eyes closed, breathing in slowly. It made him feel safe.
With the four of them living together, the pinked hair boy had managed to skipped on his recurrent trip to the ER for quite a few years now. He was a klutz by nature, which combine with his none existent sense of danger, was an assured remedy for disaster.
Iwaizumi and Matsukawa were more often then not his unofficial babysitters as well as boyfriends, as they managed together to prevent at least four broken arms, two concussions and to get run over by a car that one time.
Surprisingly, they next trip to the Emergency wasn't for him but for Mattsun who needed stitched on his brow.
" That is gonna look so badass babe,that's unfair you're gonna look even more hot than before."
The curly haired man give him a smile and a wink as he continued to press a towel to his head, holding in most of the blood that was still gushing out and had already stained his black shirt.
" That was so romantic Mattsun! My knight in shiny armor..."
Oikawa pressed himself to the taller man's side, wrapping his arms around him.
" Let the man breath will you?? Do you need anything? Does it hurt too much?"
Iwaizumi frowned at the brunette before turning his gaze to the other man sitting in front of him.
" I'm fine really, it doesn't hurt that much."
It was Saturday night and they all had a rare day off together. They've decided to go for food and drinks to get them out of the house a bit and treat themselves.
They'd gotten to one of their favourite place, which was crowded for the time, and managed to snatch a table by the far corner.
Iwaizumi stood up first, saying he was getting the first round. They'd all enjoyed that one without any issues, until they were done and Oikawa said he was getting the next round.
Time was passing by however and the brunette wasn't coming back.
Looking over the crowded room toward the bar, they finally spotted their man who seemed to be in a heated conversation with a stranger, drinks forgotten on the counter. Oikawa was wearing that close off look, meaning he clearly wasn't interested in anything the man was currently saying. They collectively frown at the saw the man leaning forward into their boyfriend’s personal space.
They saw his lips moved, clearly telling off the tall stranger with a cutting remark, before he turned to their drink and grabbed one.
.The man unhappy with what had been said to him it seemed reached forward and clutched at the setter's wrist, making him drop the glass he was holding. He stumbled a few steps in surprise, free arm reaching up to the man's chest to try and push himself away.
Before Makki or Iwaizumi, who was already up, could react and do anything, Mattsun was already across the room.
Standing at a towering height of 6'5" and with the shoulders and chest of a swimmer, adult Matsukawa Issei was quite a terrifying sight when he wanted to be. He'd grown out of his dangly teenagers limbs and looked like someone you wouldn't want to mess with, especially when he decided to wear his "yakuza mob clothes" as Makki called them.
He'd easily pushed himself between Oikawa and the stranger, breaking the hold the other man had on the brunette while quitting him with his eyes
" You alright Tooru?"
" Ah Mattsun, I'm alright-"
" Are you that little flirt's man?"
The stranger cut him off with a snarky voice, looking up at the curly man.
" He's his own man, he doesn't belong to anyone."
Mattsun kept a straight neutral face as he answered, crossing his strong arms over his chest.
" Well maybe you should consider putting a leash on your little slut then. He's got quite a mouth on him, and maybe some loose legs... You should check that out-"
And then all hell broke loose.
If one thing could be said about Matsukawa is that it took a lot to rattle him. He very rarely reacted to any comments or replies sent his way, and went along with the flow of things.
It was another thing entirely when his boyfriends were involved.
The man never had a chance to finish his sentence as a tanned fist connected strongly with his face. Gasps and shouts were heard all around, while one thing led to another as they skirmished until Iwaizumi was the one stepping in when it got too far and breaking it off.
Too far meaning the stranger breaking a glass over the curly haired man and slicing his brow open.
Which is what led them to be sitting at 1 A.M. in the Emergency room, all huddled together in a corner.
" Worth it. That jerk deserved it."
" Not saying he didn't. But he got you good..."
Makki watched as Oikawa gently dabbed away at the other man's cut while Iwaizumi was softly chiding him and he wondered how he got so lucky.
They relationship was unconventional from the start.
But seeing as most of their important moment together lead to the emergency, he shouldn't be too surprise.
And to be honest he'd broke his nose a thousand time more if it meant staying with them for the rest of his life.